Must first destroy a world
by detrametal
Summary: Ixa had just been driven through his eye and he was assured a dark end. But the Reaper of the CCG left without a fight. A few drops of his blood given to Kaneki...just what does he want? And how does he know the name Ken Kaneki? Now the stakes are high. Survival. Nothing else will do. And Uta's 'playing' with everybody and it's funny Blame Lunahras for this, she got me hooked on TG
1. Chapter 1

AN: I don't own this awesome series. Let's leave it at that before I start to cry, also I'll be using English titles (Mister, Miss) rather than the Japanese (-san, -kun) because I'm more familiar with those and some of the characters haven't really been introduced to others ie. Ken and Roma and I'd like to keep myself from being confused. If this annoys you my apologize.

* * *

Ixa. The swordshield of the Reaper of the CCG, Kishou Arima. Carefully extracting the twice corpse of his weapon he crouched next to the boy "Centipede…Ken Kanike, no, should I now call you Spider? What will you become? I guess it doesn't matter, I cannot let you live, those were my orders." but from his pocket came a frantic voice. "Stop whatever?" and the voice continued and he shut off the radio before wiping the blood of his cheek and pressing it into Kanike's mouth "Show me how far the doctor's experiments can go…" the ghoul's wounds started to regenerate before Arima lifted the boy up and whispered in his ear. The investigator moved the boy to a clear spot before continuing out to join the fight against the single strongest ghoul.

Kurona and Nashiro Yasuhisa stepped out of the shadows and led another figure to the boy. Yomo scooped him up and lead the twins to the one place everyone was hiding. Many ghouls and one human were there. The oldest ghoul laid Ken down on a torn sofa "They say that hearing is the last thing to go. Ken Kanike. Stay alive. We are all waiting for you Kaya and Enji are here, your little band is here, even Tsukiyama. Itori and Uta want to talk to you. Nishiki and Touka are here with his human girlfriend. And Roma's going to cry if she can't meet her role model."

The twins sat beside the couch and stared "Onii-chan. We are here too. We need your help…" the more wounded of the two gently gripped a hand and stared at him before laying her head on his hand. Nobody stopped her. Nor did anyone sleep, their vigil over their own was too intense.

* * *

The CCG had lost more than they had expected to with the appearance of the One-Eyed Owl. Many members that had once protected the streets were in the hospital for wounds that would have felled any normal human. Or in the morgue.

Koutarou Amon, his arm reattached with the young attendant staring at him "You won't be able to use that arm normally for awhile, and who knows how long you'll have to be in recovery before you're able to fight with it again…" she bowed and left leaving Amon with Seidou Takizawa, who left because of his own partner calling.

But beside him was Akira Mado. Her silent gaze seemed heavier than the world at the moment. He couldn't lift his own eyes to hers, instead watching his fingers twitch before curling. A subtle creak broke the silence and he looked up only to catch her lips on his own. Her voice was stern "That's for making it too easy, Amon. If you don't get better soon there will be consequences."

With a dry chuckle he finally met her gaze "You sure are treating somebody in the hospital rough…" the faintest tint of red covered her cheeks as she stood and stormed out of the room.

He gripped his fist tightly _Shinohara…did you die doing the right thing? Was the X-Owl really evil? What do we do now? I have too many questions…_

* * *

It was the third day when his hand twitched. Nashiro gasped "He moved!" all the ghouls rushed to stand around him, their friend finally moving.

His eyes still missing he managed to drag himself up from the black mire that he had nearly drowned in "G-guys?" every person laid a hand on him and he found each of their scents a comfort. "What happened?"

Everyone told their bits of the story, their own actions and those they saw. The investigators and their quinque. Yomo spoke last "Yoshimura is dead." those words rattled everyone but his continuation was more unsettling "His son covered for us as I took him to safety…I can't tell if the Owl was trying to help or if he didn't care." he was silent for a long time "Ken and I need to speak alone" Renji's voice carried the weight of the Manager's final wishes and were obeyed without hesitation. "…Yoshimura's last words were for you. Or rather his last letter. I'd let you read it but it will take some time before you can do that again."

At the end Ken only gritted his teeth and felt the eyeless tears fall down his face "I-I can't accept!"

Yomo grabbed Ken's shoulders "You have to. Not now, but soon. These past six months you've become someone that even Tsukiyama trusts. You _are_ the only one.."

Pressing a fist against his empty eye sockets the boy groaned before sighing "I will. But I have to do one thing first. I need to speak-peacefully- with a certain man"

He could feel Yomo's relief "Okay…" then the flash of mischievousness "…Manager"

Ken could only answer with a groan.

* * *

Amon woke to the feeling of immense danger nearby and slowly opened one eye to see a man in a bird mask standing over him, a hand suddenly covered his mouth and the call button was too far out of reach. Both hands clapped over the intruder but nothing happened and none of the monitors were hooked up to him as his injuries weren't life threatening at the moment. When the man gave a squeeze one word echoed through Amon's head.

_Ghoul_.

The masked man leaned close to his ear "If I let you go will you not panic?"

Sensing danger but no immediate threat the investigator nodded and the hand was gone for a moment before his struggle to sit up became apparent and he was helped by the same ghoul "What do you want?" he asked with more calm than he felt.

The bird sat in the chair facing the man "My friend has asked me to come here and extend an offer to talk. _Only to talk. _He was heavily injured trying to escape from saving our friends. You know him as Eye patch." Renji handed the investigator a slip of paper "As soon as you can go give that number a call and he will meet you at the nearby park at six pm."

The ukaku opened the window to leave when the larger man stopped him "How do I know this isn't a trap?"

The glass closed "Because in his current state he cannot fight at all. I will be there only to help him and you've been invited to bring your partner. He doesn't want to hurt anybody but he doesn't want to hide like a criminal for existing."

Again the man opened the window before being stopped, Amon's words were confident "If he only wants to talk let's do it tonight. Six and in front of the fountain. I will bring an armed partner"

Yomo nodded "Very well. I'll tell him"

Akira came in later finding her partner brooding over a slip of paper in his hands before shredding it and looking at her with the fire that lit her own confidence "We've got a job. Tonight we're going to talk to somebody…just you and me"

She lifted an elegant brow "And what should I bring? A camera? A notebook?"

Totally mistaking her sarcasm he sighed "A camera wouldn't be wise…but a notebook might be good…and your quinque…" her eyes widened before she shook her head.

* * *

At the appointed time the investigators were seated on one of the two benches that faced each other, to the left was a fountain that gurgled pleasantly while the right offered a view of the trees. They had already swept the area for anything hidden. Akira Mado tapped her foot with nervous energy while Amon pulled out a recorder and set it beside him. The bushes rustled and the humans stared intently as the bird masked ghoul lead Eye patch out of the bushes, the latter having a grip on the former's shoulder.

Besides his normal attire a black bandana had been tied around his eyes leaving his entire face covered. Yomo helped Ken take a seat on the bench before the half-Kakuja spoke "Mr. Amon, sorry for my near tardiness it's a bit harder than I thought to walk around blind"

Akira's mouth twitched "And why did you think it would be easy?"

Amon put a hand on the standing woman's arm, trying to silently tell her not to interfere when Ken chuckled "I didn't say easy, hard-_er_. And you are?"

"Akira Mado. His partner…and if my intuition was right you know who killed my father" she growled the last bit and Yomo began to take a defensive stance.

Amon chided his partner " Mado! While that is important we are not here to interrogate him!"

But the thoughts had already been placed as Ken sighed sadly "Yes, I do. But in that moment every party did wrong. Your father was chasing a girl who only wanted to see her parents again. More that you want to see yours. Above all she wants to be with her parents peacefully. Like every ghoul I try to protect we don't want to fight. Kureo Mado may have had his reasons to hate ghouls but I can't tell when his reason went to obsession." motioning Yomo to sit he continued "The ghoul in question did wrong in provoking him into spilling information about who knew of the girl. In the entire debacle the only blameless party is the little girl herself. Even I am not blameless."

Akira deflated as she realized her father may not have been as righteous as she hoped. She slumped down beside her partner and Amon took the moment to divert attention away from her "Am I right in assuming you were injured by Kishou Arima?"

Yomo's eyes widened behind his mask and he turned to face Ken who nodded "How did you know?"

The investigator sucked on his teeth for a moment "He mentioned needed a new quinque, and meeting a 'Centipede' did you destroy Ixa?"

Ken bridged his fingers as his eyeless sockets focused on the investigator in front of him, when he spoke his voice was that of the leader **"First-Class Investigator Koutarou Amon. I did not destroy Ixa. That weapon was dead many years ago. Only his skill kept that weapon functioning."**

Before she could stop it Mado blurted "That's impossible! He repairs that weapon after every fight!"

Neither group could tell who was more shocked. But much to the investigators' relief the Centipede broke the silence "Mr. Amon. I called you here for one simple reason, a warning. The X-Owl as you called him was a peace broker of the 20th ward. For the foreseeable future you will have to work harder to keep this ward- and every other- out of the hands of hateful ghouls."

Mado was stunned silent but Amon nodded as he rested his hands in his lap "Understood. But I must ask if we could meet again, perhaps not friends but not as enemies."

Ken's voice, the only detector of mood, was almost happy "Of course…although it may be awhile, I would not ask you to meet me while we are not on equal grounds. Ghouls heal so much faster than humans…Whenever you would like to speak call the number you were given." there was quiet moment before the sound of Ken's jaw shifting was heard "I'd like to ask you one final question, and in return I'll answer one of yours"

The senior partner looked at the woman who nodded and both looked intently at the boy "What is it?"

"How did Kishou Arima know my name?"

This news startled both investigators. As Ken waited for a long moment Amon looked at Mado and shrugged bewilderedly, she took a moment "We don't know. But I have a theory. In searching for the 'Binge Eater' we discovered that one Ken Kaneki was the recipient of the organs from the woman killed by the falling material. When this was said Hideyoshi Nagachika was working for us and said that this Ken was his best friend…judging from this you would be 'Ken' are you not?"

With a distraught chuckle the ghoul said "That brilliant idiot…but this doesn't explain how Arima knew my name or where Hide is"

She continued after the unspoken confirmation "Hideyoshi is just fine, after the…Owl raid he was perfectly fine, he only had a scratch on his arm from when he fell down a ladder" she watched the ghoul only to see nothing. But in his head Ken knew he needed to talk to Hide. "But even then the only ones privy to that were us, another pair and Hide himself. As for how Arima knew we have no idea."

Amon glanced at his watch, expecting hours to have gone by. Only about half an hour, he realized why. Tension. This wasn't a game, here was life or death in every word, both sides were armed and the investigator realized that he was far outgunned. The one by Eye-patch's side was an older ghoul and judging from the slight wear and repairs only faintly visible on the mask one of considerable power. Yes, Mado was a fair fighter but if the ghoul attacked he knew that neither human would get out unharmed.

Yomo was thinking much along the same lines, both of these two humans were trained and the one sitting almost calmly was the one that had taken a huge portion of Ken's side in his half kakuja state. The other one he knew was the daughter of the one that had taken Hinami's parents.

Both of them were dragged back when Ken nodded "Thank you. Now as promised what is your two questions…I seem to have asked one more"

For that the younger looked to her senior who mulled it over "First I'd ask what is your goal here?"

Interlaced fingers came to his chin as his index fingers rested against his concealed lips "The most selfish thing. I'm avoiding pain, and to do so I'm protecting my precious people"

Mado cut in harshly "That's a very _human _answer"

Both ghouls laughed. Something that angered Mado more "Ms. Mado. We do not imitate humans. Every evolutionary scientist researching in the area of ghouls agrees that ghouls and humans are beyond identical. At the present it is impossible to find a separation in an evolutionary tree. We simply don't know. For your purpose we _are_ human. We're born to parents who love us, we fight our own demons, we may or may not fall in love and raise our children to the best of our abilities and we fear being separated from those we love. Yes, there are differences, but in terms of emotions and feelings we are human." and after a chuckle he went on "And I'm a human ghoul so my answer should be more 'human' as you put it than any other ghoul"

For the first time since the meeting started Yomo spoke "Manger, we have one more question then the others will want to hear from you."

Even behind the mask everyone could tell the smile "Thank you. After this question we can be on our way. But let's try to help them" he was answered with a non-committal grunt.

For a moment the humans spoke to each other on what to ask but they ended on "Do you have any connection to the 'One-eyed Owl'?"

The tension spiked in the small clearing and Ken's voice wasn't unpleasant but it held a warning "I can assure you that the ghoul in question is unknown to us. I can tell you that we have no idea on him than you do. Probably less in fact. None of us have seen that ghoul." Ken stood and bowed "This is farewell and until next time. I wish you fast recovery and…no, that's for another time" and Yomo lead the leader away but looked back and shook his head as a message to the investigators.

Yomo reappeared a moment later before speaking quietly "You owe him your life. The first time he spared you, at the lab you spared him. But this last time you meant to kill him. He didn't."

Akira hissed "And how would you know that?"

His finger pointed directly between the man's eyes "His head is still attached. He tried to move you out of the fight without killing you." and he disappeared leaving not a trace.

* * *

As they slowly made their way to the hideout Renji asked a question that had plagued him since he met the boy "Is there any human you could eat?"

Ken's shock was so great he lost his hold on the other's sleeve "Wh- No!"

But even he could see there was something hidden "But there is a human you hate"

The boy stopped moving all together "Yes" he whispered "there is"

Slowly the man lead his friend to a small tree that they leaned up against, "How is it that you have a human you would actually hate?"

The half human buried his head in his hands "S-she's so foul I wouldn't eat her if she was my only option. That woman drove her own sister to death…she worked my mother until she died even though mom worked and supported us by herself. My aunt didn't work and just…" telling the story to a true person was harder than talking to the figment of Rize.

Yomo didn't say anything but only slowly lead the boy to the others. They had fallen asleep from the stress of having to wait behind, when the call of their friends safety had come they had nearly blacked out.

But Ken wasn't happy. Tears had started to fall again and this time not stopping as he thought about the last part of his dear friend and mentor's letter. Putting on the bravest face he could manage he looked at the older ghoul "I-I have to do it now."

Renji would never say this aloud but what was going to happen made his stomach turn and threaten him with spilling over. But after that it was going to be something that had never been seen.


	2. Chapter 2

**First let me say sorry for the long wait I wanted to flesh this out and make sure it was up to snuff before I put this out, and granted it isn't Beta-ed so there probably will be mistakes**

**A moment more of your time and I promise I'll start the story, first remember that the Kagune are made of RC cells, pretty much a fancy blood cell and finally yay a plot driven chapter!**

* * *

Tears and sorrow, choking and despair, snapping and hunger. From that dark room there was a hell that only Ken could find. The 'Centipede' mask was on his face as his stomach turned and bone broke and flesh squelched between his blunt teeth. When he started he had put on his mask so that his mind would be blank of this but each bite was remembered and each gulp made everything clearer. When his horrid meal was done he slumped down against the table and let all the pressure that had built up since the day he died to Rize wash over him.

Outside the room they awoke to the sound of the gut wrenching guilt he had suffered. But their attempt to enter nearly left them in pieces. The Ghoul's claws nearly tore into them as his crying intensified.

The door closed they could breath a bit easier until Tsukiyama mused "I wonder what got him all riled up…"

The mask maker who had been staring at his phone looked up "I think it might be this. Anybody who loves chess will be reduced to tears" with a scoff the gourmet took the device.

Within two minutes the man was sobbing and the phone was handed back to Uta who merely smiled.

But aside from the small attempt at humor none of them had any drive. The feeling was sorted out by Koma "We all just got our collective asses kicked, we lost our leader and we can't even properly lick our wounds without getting snuffed out like a candle. What are we supposed to do?"

Yomo leaned back "Traditionally we'd go somewhere far away and heal up before we did anything. But until Ken's done I'm not moving"

Touka was the one who broke the silence hovering over the question "What in the hell is he doing then? He's been crying nonstop for three hours"

The bird mask carrier walked to the kitchen where he brewed a much needed cup of coffee for each of those present "It's-" he suddenly stopped as if trying to hold down the last meal "I-if I was you I would ask him that _after_ he gets out"

* * *

Eto, the One-Eyed Owl, the King of Aogiri Tree, rubbed her hand across her face as she thought. _he couldn't have survived, his blood was all over Arima…even after taking off that blow to the stomach and Amon's arm…_ she lifted her head and snapped "Tatara! Find out everything you can about Ken Kaneki. If he's alive I want you to tell me before you do anything else" the foul feeling in her stomach about that boy wouldn't go away, persisting like the stench of a rotting body in an otherwise spotless room.

The dutiful ghoul bowed his head "Of course" before he slid off into the darkness.

Her usually childlike demeanor was gone and every joy she might have portrayed was swallowed up by that overwhelming question.

* * *

Itori looked at Enji and Kaya "How did you two survive if Arima was in those sewers?"

Both the ape and the dog looked away from the other before pointing at the other. The ape explained "We both were really wounded so it took a long time to even get into the sewers and Ken found a place close to V14...but by the Renji found us before we got there and told us to come here instead…"

* * *

Amon stared at the Reaper "Why did you report Kaneki as dead?"

Arima who had passed the healing investigator in the halls jerked his chin towards a small conference room, once inside he let out a tight smile "Ken Kaneki's heart stopped beating for a full 32 seconds. Now if he were to be resuscitated after I left…then who could blame me, he is a naturally resistant ghoul after all and nobody has fully tested the lengths needed to go to exterminate a half-ghoul"

The taller of the two stared "You knew he was alive?"

"The possibility existed…and I know that particular entity better than he knows himself…" were the last words spoken before Arima left as if he hadn't just told a man he lied to the highest defense authority in the country.

* * *

It only took a few hours for the loyal ghoul to gather the information he needed and he returned to speak the words that she needed to hear "Ken is alive…but it seems that he was heavily wounded and will take at least a month to recover"

Eto's mouth dropped in shock, what type of injury would take a Kakuja rinkaku of all things a full month to heal? She gritted her teeth "We'll wait for him to heal. Then I've got questions to ask him…"

* * *

Touka opened the door as quietly as she could, the others had moved to the other room to bicker hours ago, she knew they didn't see her leave and she needed answers from Ken.

Slowly the door creaked open yet not one scaled limb attacked her. She saw him. Back against he table everything of him drenched and dripped ungodly amounts of blood. His arms crushing his knees to his chest as his face was buried in his legs. The sobbing, no less quiet then before pierced her ears. There had been a body on the table, that much she could see, but now everything but the clothes were gone. Eaten.

She sat beside him trying her damnedest to figure out what to do, she wasn't good at saying what she meant and for a brief moment she remembered trying to hurt him on the bridge. She did the only thing that she could think of, something she did for Ayato when he had nightmares all those years ago. She put her hand on his head.

His sobs never ceased but slowly he seemed to topple sideways until his body hit the hard cold unfinished floor and she pulled his body so that his head could sit on her thigh.

She didn't know how long she spent there slowly stroking his hair until the choking sounds quietly faded into a dreamless void for the man. Slowly his fingers unwound and a pin fell from his grasp. Her hands trembled as she picked it up. Yet she couldn't leave him. She set it by her side and allowed the darkness to treat her to sleep, the single light that hung over the crimson table flashed harshly against the silver lettering of the black name tag.

_Yoshimura_

* * *

It was a dark roar in his mind. Slowly it grew in volume until it rattled his bones and shook him down to his core before it faded too quietly into nothing. Then a new sound came a gentle rhythm that drained the tension from him. It reminded him of the comfort of his mother's arms. Slowly he realized the truth of the sound. A heartbeat. Opening his eyes the world was turned. Slowly he turned his head towards what he was laying on and the skin trembled when his lips traced it for a moment. Touka. Somehow he had fallen asleep on her lap. Somehow she had gotten in even when he tried to hold them out…

Remembering everything he slowly scooped up the sleeping girl before moving to the living room where everyone was scattered about in the arms of Morpheus. He leaned her against the couch before stepping out and dialing a number "Hori it's amazing to hear your voice. Yeah, I'm alive…we're beaten pretty badly…of course we'll take it easy, I do have a question though…"

* * *

Touka was the last one to wake up, but seeing the other sitting around the room drinking coffee was a warmer sight than she expected and soon she joined them in the near silence. As the final cup was washed Ken took a deep breath, his almost healed body still didn't move the way he wanted it to, his left arm was near useless even hours after only picking up the light ghoul "We need to heal…to eat. And since most of our fighters are injured I'll need everyone to help"

Nishiki snorted "I'll admit you're pretty damn powerful but who made you king?"

Kaya gave a deceptively calm smile "Well, he did save us, and the manager…former manager seemed to think he was good enough for it…but don't take my word for it"

Banjou snarled "Hey Ken took care of us when we were still trying to stay off of CCG's radar!"

Ken stepped in before it got out of hand "Alright that's enough…here's the plan. In the 13th ward another 'restaurant' has been set up…I want it gone"

Roma giggled a moment "What do you want me-"

"Pierrot will do nothing." that single sentence stopped the room.

Uta, Itori and Roma tensed for a moment and the old No Face even thought about attacking until Yomo shook his head "Uta, you've been a friend for a long time and I can't let you do something stupid…something that will get you killed"

Itori let out a tight laugh "Are you saying that our precious Eye-patch is stronger than the three of us?"

Again their old friend spoke "At the moment even if all of us in this room attacked it wouldn't do anything. He's drank the blood of the Reaper and eaten the X-Owl." for once Yomo had a blatant smile "It's seems that in killing Rize you've unleashed something you didn't see coming"

Even as she shoved her chair back and let out a growl Roma stopped. Around all three of the clown's necks were three claws. Not having moved an inch until that moment Ken laced his fingers and planted his elbows on the table. He glued emotionless eyes on the three and Uta flinched back "Now, I am thankful to your group. But at the moment if you stand in the way of me helping those I said I'd protect I will have no choice but to _eat _you"

Uta nodded before the other two sat silently and Ken continued "Now, since Yomo is the only one of our main fighters outside of Pierrot not injured so he and I will take the middle ground, Nishiki and and Touka will take the upper level starting from the opposite of the doors, Banjou, Jiro, Ichimi and Sante will guard the doors as before. Nashiro, Kurona, Shuu, Enji, Kaya and Hinami will wait outside for us. I know ghoul isn't you're preferred food but we have little choice right now."

Itori leaned back in her chair "What do you have planed for us?"

Hinami looked back and forth as the silence dragged on. The new manager grit his teeth for a moment "I trust you…only insofar as I know you, which in light of recent events is a hell of a lot less than I though. So I will find you after we've healed and I'd like to talk to all five of you in depth."

As the two groups stood to go their separate ways Touka had to stop near the three "I-I need a new mask…see you soon" she grumbled looking at the floor. Before she too was out the door.

Uta slumped into his chair again and ran his fingers through his hair "That did not go well…"

The red head let out a forced smirk "Well…Nico's going to be happy to see Ken again…"

* * *

All 15 members of the Second Ghoul's Restaurant met a gruesome end. Even with their limited powers the containment was flawless and nobody escaped, but the biggest surprise came when using six Rinkaku legs he had scaled the walls and laid waste to the spectators. With four in reserve.

Ken's plan had ended brilliantly and ended with all his members in a better state. All of them were at a point where they could defend themselves adequately if the need arose but not everything was perfectly taken care of.

Just as they were about to leave Ken's phone rang and he darted off a distance before answering. Leaving them to go to the safe house without him he proceeded to the 23rd ward. Where some answers awaited him.

* * *

Sen Takatsuki, Eto, One-eyed Owl, King…she had many names but this was the most surprised she had been in a very long time. Longer than she cared to remember. Before her stood Ken Kaneki, his mask sitting too easily on his face. A month of healing…in only a few days. She leaned forward in the chair sitting at the far end of the room "What are you doing here Mr. Kaneki?"

"I came to barging" he said amicably "But I would like to know what to call you, since you were introduced as Eto but I know you as Sen Takatsuki, so you can see why I'm a bit confused"

"I really don't care what you call me…now what was that about bargaining?"

Ken slid his hands into his pockets "Well Sen, I was hoping to get that journal your father left you"

Her nose twitched but it was imperceptible in the small ruckus another ghoul caused. He stomped forward "Have some respect you little twat!" he growled as he stepped very close to the Centipede.

Slowly tilting his head to the side the young man responded "Don't touch me" the offending ghoul pushed his shoulder only to be met with black.

To those watching in the blink of an eye one tentacle slashed through the target, bifurcating his head leaving no time to react. The white haired monstrosity unzipped his mask and started eating. A grizzly meal even for the members who had taken to cannibalism. Sen herself stopped, most of them had taken to eating others on the rumor of more power, she had taken to it due to lack of prey. He took to it naturally.

And that terrified her deeply. She had heard from her contacts that he had only eaten Ghoul since his escape from Aogiri Tree. In her head she knew that in a fight she could kill him in her stomach she felt a trembling, this was the only ghoul to have ever touched Kishou Arima.

As he snapped and crunched through every bit of the ghoul some others started to prepare an attack, but one outstretched hand stopped that "He's waiting for it." she could feel his blood limbs moving under his skin like the twisting of her own bones.

Noro, the quietest and one of the most lethal ghouls she knew whimpered and took a step behind her, if it wasn't for her own super hearing she would have missed it.

Ken stood and wiped his mouth before zipping his mask "I make it a point not to waste food"

Hiding her emotions she gave a false glare "And what if I thought that killing you would make good on 'not wasting food' what would you do? I don't see any weapons and you _are _alone"

"For the author who wrote so many horror stories I'm surprised, just because I'm alone doesn't mean I'm not covered. He knows what it is" he remarked pointing to Noro who was now at the very back at the room.

Tensing slightly at the invisible threat, she expanded her senses and found only the tiniest bit of an off putting scent "Well then mister genius, what do you have to keep me from just crushing you?"

From somewhere deep within him Ken gained a source of near suicidal confidence "Now where's the fun in that?" the One-eyed King growled deep within her throat and he conceded "I know you're familiar with the RC suppressant injections, and possibly the gas…now I've managed to put six canisters down my esophagus of the gas, I've also filled them with an aerosolized sulfur compound and a few more things…long story short, if they go off everyone here is doused with the gas, can't smell due to the sulfur, can't hear and possibly can't see."

"But wouldn't that hurt you?" now she was more curious than anything, he had thought this out far more than she had believed.

"An interesting side note actually, RC gas doesn't affect half-ghouls since the mucus membranes of our lungs don't have the specific channels. Only the injections can disable us."

She hid a smirk, he would be a fine asset if she could only convince him to stop fighting them "And what's to stop _me _from hunting you down?"

"Nothing" came the reply "but the hunt would fail. Think about this, I'll bind your hearing and smell, possibly sight, I can move as fast as you and I can run towards the rising sun limiting you to only two senses, touch and taste. Neither one will do you much good in a long drawn out chase…and I can move almost as fast as you over a city. Faster in a building, all I'd have to do is drop out somewhere and wait."

Tatara hissed in her ear "There's no way his muscles can out power your kagune in a race"

She leaned back in her chair and scratched her head as she whispered back "It's not a muscle anymore. He's using hydraulic pressure to move his kagune." getting back to the original conversation she turned to Ken "What do you have to bargain with?"

"The location of China's strongest Ghoul."

Tatara instantly was in her ear again "The journal has nothing worth knowing. If we could get the 'Ghost Woman' we could sway this entire conflict in our favor"

She had to admit the book had nothing worth knowing. If you didn't know what you were looking at. The fact that he specifically asked for that assured her otherwise…but looking at the folder in her hands the information was good…

She turned the book over in her hands and stared at it for a moment "Answer me this Centipede…how many players are on the field and what are their goals?"

"Six players. I don't know yours, I'm going to protect those around me, the CCG wants to protect the people from Ghouls, V…I cannot fathom theirs as I've never met them, Pierrot…again I don't know, and the free Ghouls are another player, they probably only want to survive…"

She motioned him forward and the entire crowd tensed as the two strongest ghouls they had ever encountered got closer and closer. She held out the book and met his eyes. "Thank you" he mouthed as her hand slipped off the beaten brown cover, where his hand touched hers a slight tinge flowed through her.

Tatara immediately motioned some of their members to find the Ghost Woman, the strongest Ghoul in China but Sen could only wonder if she had allowed the strongest mate she would ever encounter slip through her fingers.

* * *

Uta had waited outside, listening on the entire thing "Itori was concerned after she heard that you didn't go back with the others…to think that you would give information-help even to your sworn enemy…"he mused.

Ken turned sharply "There are quite a few things wrong with that. First I never said she would help, I only told them where to find her. And second they aren't my sworn enemy. That was a major mistake of mine"

"What mistake would that be?"

"I confused my goals. Originally it was 'protect those around me' with a second priority of 'find information' after that fuck up and changed into 'Stop Aogiri Tree' I'm staring over with the same goals and this time if they aren't hurting me I won't push back and I'll talk to whoever I have to if they have answers."


	3. Chapter 3

Rize awoke in a dark room. Awoke would never be the right word but the hunger that kept her in the deep dreamlike state was something that no language could describe. Slowly she stood and wiped the blood from her mouth as she stared at the corpse at her feet, well, at least her dress was clean. Her glasses were folded and set some distance from her feast.

The only light came from a reflection off the door, stepping closer she could see a flashlight set on the ground. Scanning the room with her new light source she could only see concrete, nothing there. No tables, no chairs, not even another door.

She may be the powerful binge eater but even she had a sense of caution, so she was quiet and stifled the light of the flashlight with her hand as she opened the door. There was a long hall with yet another door. This opened into a large room where she finally saw something other than concrete walls.

Sitting on a folding chair was a ghoul. An odd one at that. She glanced up and saw a few bare light bulbs burning when the sound of the chair sliding against the floor caught her attention. She knew they were deep in the underground passages of the wards, no matter how much noise they made nobody would care, in fact the only noise she could hear was the subtle drip of water on concrete. She studied him for a second, worn blue jeans and a black hoody that covered his torso and his face.

His voice was deep and very breathy "Rize…Binge Eater. An S ranked ghoul" then his left sleeve ripped and a large wing like structure came out, it looked more like a drill stuck to his back than any wing she had ever seen.

But she knew that an ukaku ghoul was going to be fast. She was proven right, the ghoul suddenly appeared in front of her and let loose a withering barrage of punches that forced her to not only block with her arms but all four of her tentacles.

She lashed out blindly and was rewarded with the sound of her rinkaku smashing against the much flimsier wing. But it didn't shatter, it uncurled from it's position and wrapped itself around his arm.

The Eater knew that it was the same appendage, she knew it was impossible for one ghoul to have multiple kagune within the same limb. "Koukaku?" she whispered as she took a few steps back. Something was very wrong here.

The kagune wrapped around his bicep before flowing down the length of his forearm and becoming a blade underneath his hand. From Rize's experience the way to deal with a koukaku was to strike first, so she took a step forward and launched all four of her scarlet limbs at him. He dodged by a hair's width and cut the extended portions off before tossing them back to her to be reabsorbed. This, as a fight, was making no sense. She launched forward again but spread her attack out and the sword was forced to curl around itself to make a circular shield that was pierced easily.

The other ghoul leapt in the air and grabbed onto the ceiling with one hand so that he was parallel with the floor. He gave an irritated sigh before unwrapping his kagune from his free arm and letting it hang loosely behind him like a tail.

Rize was growing more and more irritated, no matter what she did she couldn't land a solid hit on him. "A bikaku now? What are you?" she hissed violently as she stretched one tentacle out to swat him from the ceiling.

She finally got him to speak, though he only said "I wonder that myself…" before flicking a hand and forcing the attack off target by a few inches, enough that what would have skewered his head only moved his hair. He had the speed of an ukaku and brute strength that surpassed her own. He could be a very experienced bikaku…but somehow she doubted that, she couldn't even knock his hood off his face with all the fighting.

He let go of the ceiling and fell lightly to the floor. Rize responded with a maddened rush of attacks. Since she couldn't get him with one she would flood the air with tentacles. He twisted and ducked with experience and used his tail to flick his body from one side of the room to the other nearly constantly. She aimed for him in the air but his tail would uncoil like lightning and flick him off course or jerk him closer to a pillar, the final one he slid down.

She had no idea who this was…or why they hadn't killed her yet. The difference in skill was huge and yet they still toyed with her.

It was unsettling and she hated every moment of it.

* * *

Amon slowly tightened his fist until his tendons creaked and the gauge in his hand gave a number comparable to his uninjured hand. Slowly he looked at the medal on his desk. Special Class Investigator.

_For facing SS-ranked Centipede and bravery in the face of overwhelming numbers during the X-Owl operation._

That was the official bullshit. But he and his partner knew that it wasn't that he held back Centipede, but that the other didn't want to kill him. But that's when things got even more disturbing. Arima put forth an idea that was currently being pondered by the director and the other top brass. A text lit up his phone and he gave an ironic smile, speak of the devil. Shrugging on his suit jacket he sent a response before he called his partner "Akira, it's Amon. They want us back at Headquarters to talk about…that thing"

Silence was the only thing that greeted him for a moment "I'll be right there." was her reply and goodbye.

As they arrived in the building they quickly scaled to the upper most levels to find the room where the other Special Class Investigators were having their meeting at the moment. The tall man walked in and he glanced around the room as Akira stood behind him. Each of the investigators' partners were behind them like a guard. There was a few quick moments of paperwork type things before Arima spoke "Koutarou Amon…what do you think of the latest attack on the Ghoul Restaurant?"

There were multiple shocking things in that incident. Arima very rarely spoke and addressing a newcomer about something seemingly mundane was enough to put several people back on their heels. But the newest special class took it evenly. Tapping the pad sitting in front of him he glanced through the pictures before flicking his hand up and putting a single photo on the screen. Standing he touched the large screen with a finger "This is something I've seen before, a quinque in ghoul hands means that they're starting to either hunt ghouls or, much more likely, the half ghouls Aogiri Tree has started to put out. But this even split is characteristic of Centipede. As you know Ken Kaneki is the first half-ghoul artificially made, we also know that he was tortured by Jason for at least ten days and he developed a deep personal disgust for ghoul restaurants and abstains from eating humans."

Kiyoko Aura spoke quietly "It sounds as if you hold a respect for this…unfortunate soul."

Touching his chin with his hand Amon thought "I don't know if that's what it is. He's suffered very much and yet remains who we believe to be himself. He also does not _want _to be a killer and has displayed this on multiple occasions. If it's not respect it's close to it."

Marude spat out a "Feh, ghouls need to die."

There was a subtle twitch in Arima's eye that everyone missed "Therein lies another problem…"

The Division 2 commander responded with an elegant "Eh?"

The unbeatable inspector shifted in his seat to lean back "From the technical perspective are they ghouls? They can summon both the red-on-black eyes and the weapons of one. This would almost certainly qualifies them as ghouls, but it's only in one eye. And biologically they are vastly unlike either."

The room stewed in a uncomfortable silence until Iwao shook his head "Let's move onto the other thing we called this meeting for. Amon, we are split on if we should raise Centipede to a SSS-ranked ghoul."

He thought. Hard "This is by no means easy. Having seen what he's done on two occasions and to a special investigator both before and during the X-Owl operation…"

Marude snorted "So what? He destroyed weapons, that's all!"

Mougan shook his head "More like he so outclassed us that he took them out before we could stop him."

Amon looked at his partner "Can you bring up the footage of case 1541?"

She nodded and pushed her flash drive into the pad he handed her. Case 1541 was the identification given to the Raid on Kanou's Lab, the doctor had cameras installed everywhere so the footage of Kaneki's fight with Shinohara was accessible after the CCG took over the lab. Those who hadn't seen the fight watched with blank looks. At the end Akira pulled her drive and said "This was our first experience with Centipede as a Kakuja, and given the time line after which he became a half-ghoul we believe this to be where he evolved."

Arima crossed his arms "If this was his first time using such a measure and considering how much more powerful it was during our fight I would not be surprised for him to become a SSS-ranked ghoul."

A sudden thought stuck Amon with a fierceness that he was not expecting, it came out of his mouth before he could stop it "I don't think we need to rank him at all."

The other investigators turned to him in silence. Kiyoko ordered in her gentle voice "Explain."

Amon hesitated, normally he was a man that would rather do things but here he didn't want to alienate the upper echelon of the CCG. "Centipede…that is Ken Kaneki has never shown signs of predation on humans. Based on his development we speculate that after he was taken by Aogiri Tree he had only eaten ghouls."

Iwao shook his head "We cannot base something like public danger on that."

Akira spoke up "Before he fought Arima, he didn't even attack Hideyoshi. Our assistant investigator said that he said his name before he devoured a ghoul body floating out of the area."

Again a silence came over them. The group seated and standing could be called experts in ghouls, and with Kanou's defecting to Aogiri, the half-ghouls that had started to swarm the country as well.

Mougan nodded several times "I think we should table that discussion for some other time when we've had a chance to think about it. For now I call a vote on the upgrade in rank for Centipede."

Of the six it came a three/one split with Marude against and Iwao and Arima abstaining.

* * *

Eto watched this latest batch of half-ghouls scramble out to feast in their mindless hunger. These new half-ghouls were more powerful than your average ghoul but far less restrained. These people suddenly felt a hunger that tore into their sanity and more often than not destroyed it.

Tatara stood beside her on the roof of the building on the outskirts "So many half-ghouls in such a short time, the doctor really is skilled."

She shrugged "I don't really care either way, he's just a means to an end."

The taller of the two silently nodded. He spent many years with Eto but he still had trouble reading her "I should have killed Kaneki when I had the chance."

She didn't reply and for a moment Tatara thought he had offended her "Well, I guess we all made mistakes, though I think he turned into something fascinating."

"How so?"

"He didn't really have ashes to rise out of in the first place but he stood up and not only fought back, but fought back hard enough that the CCG, V and our own forces have to tread lightly around him. So far he's the only half-ghoul who can maintain perfect control of his powers…well, excluding the kakuja but no matter who you are controlling something like that is hard…and with him being an unnatural ghoul it'll be harder."

Her trusted lieutenant tapped his metal mask "Should we try to recruit him? Offer safety to those who he wants to protect?"

She gave a small giggle "Never try to take a centipede's prey from it's mouth. You'll end up with worse than a bite," she went very quiet "I know Arima did." the man in the red mask stopped breathing for a second "He's got a nice little scar from his fight and Kaneki got a SSS-rating from the Special class investigators."

He gave a "Hmm" before mulling over the implications of that "If we can't get him to join us maybe we could change from an enemy to an ally?"

She nodded "That would be good but we made him what he is…in more ways than one. What can we do?"

He could only answer with silence.

* * *

In a place where no human will ever set foot three ghouls sat in lush comfort, three red leather chairs sat in a warm room with exquisite art, lit only by the fireplace there wasn't enough light to see anything but shapes. The Shade looked at The Shadow and The Silhouette "The clowns are now known to Centipede."

The Silhouette nodded "It doesn't matter anyways. Long as he stays outta our way I don't give a shit."

The Shadow gave a lilting giggle that betrayed her as the only female in the group "I don't think you understand that he can become a major problem."

Shade sighed "We have two hounds clawing at our door, Aogiri Tree and the CCG, I will not stand for this upstart to join them in these transgressions!" he slammed a hand on the chair arm.

Silhouette snorted "Then kill the bastard, be done with it."

Shadow shook her head "He hasn't done anything against us. Up until Kuzen died he was acting against Aogiri, so the case could be made that he was acting in our interests."

Silhouette, the warmonger, growled "Don't give a shit! Kuzen didn't listen to us and paid the price!"

Shade was by far the intellectual of the group "Kuzen did not do it lightly, in his years working for us he never disobeyed. Only after we ordered Ukina's death and he left did he even try to say no and only when it would have betrayed his family."

Silhouette hissed "And now we've got his mess to clean up!"

Shadow was the 'sister' of the group and often the mediator between the other two. And if words failed she would beat the hell out of both of them and remind them who was the most lethal of the three. "If we either intervened earlier or allowed the one-eyed ghoul to live with him we would have avoided the situation entirely."

Shade knew that tone in her voice "What do you have in mind?"

She rubbed her hands together "Centipede has cut a deal with Aogiri. Purely information. He want's nothing more than to protect his friends, even after knowing what the Clowns did to him he still keeps them around, though they haven't met since he went to trade information with Aogiri. We can use him."

Silhouette put his hands behind his head and put his feet on the glass coffee table between the three chairs "Don't give a shit! I'mmabout two seconds from getting outta here and stomping all these one-eyed wannabies into paste"

Shadow's voice became very hard "You will not." the other two stiffened "I will send out a messenger to Centipede, asking for a meeting. You two don't have to come but I want to offer him a place here, maybe then we can finally figure out exactly how far we need to go before we reveal ourselves to those who don't need to know about us."

Silhouette thought for a moment before a vicious chuckle and grin escaped him "Didn't he put a pretty cut on Arima's face?"

Shade nodded "Indeed he did and he is becoming familiar with that Amon fellow."

Shadow took on an almost seductive voice "Just leave it to me boys, I'll see if I can't work on him a bit."

And thus the heads of V came to an accord.

* * *

Rize fell on her back again. The tail pinned her down before she could move "Pathetic. Really? Is this the best and S-rank can do?"

She clawed at his face and managed to catch an eye hole with a finger and snap the brittle sting on the plastic Jason mask. The hood obscured his face and his tail split into four tentacles that lifted him high above Rize, two more lashed out from his back and impaled her wrists before lifting her and securing her own kagune by wrapping his own longer limbs around hers completely. In the back of her mind she realized he had played her, he was a rinkaku like her but just moved the limbs around. But his limbs looked the same as hers, though skinnier and more like insect legs. A quick swipe of a hand and his hood lay against his back. He was familiar…like a waking dream, the contortions changed by the lens of consciousness. "Do you remember me Rize?"

She spat through gritted teeth "I've never met a white haired ghoul."

"No, you met a black haired boy. A scrawny bookworm you tried to eat. But you failed. And now he could eat you." he suddenly released his hold on her and she fell onto the cold concrete below.

Slowly she stood up "Ken?"

He gave a brutal laugh as he lowered himself to the floor. His real mask sitting about his face "Centipede or Eyepatch isn't quite as…brutal as Binge Eater…though I do rank above you…"

Rize had never been more in shock then that one moment. She couldn't reconcile the boy she nearly ate three years ago with this monster before her. He had evolved from prey to predator.

She stood shakily "What the hell happened?"

One of his limbs grabbed the chair and he sat like nothing had happened, that she hadn't been trying to kill him for the past half hour. "Things beyond the scope of the life you had before this. But now I have one question, now that we've freed you what are you planning on doing?"

She glanced at her already healed wrists before staring at him "Wandering again would be nice."

He gave a bleak chuckle "CCG and Aogiri Tree are up in arms, security is up in the places the former controls and where Aogiri rules it's anarchy with artificial one-eyed ghouls running around…not to mention Sachi being out and about." she stiffened at the last name before she could stop it.

She played her last real gambit "I'd like to talk to Yoshimura."

He shook his head "Impossible, he's dead. The CCG killed him. Then I did what he asked me to do and ate his body."


End file.
